A Month's worth of movies: Part 1
Singing in the Rain - ★★★☆
Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds and Donald O'Connor combine their talents in one of the greatest big-screen musicals ever made, a two-time Oscar nominee that includes the songs "Good Morning," "Make 'Em Laugh" and the iconic title tune. When Hollywood attempts the transition from silent films to talkies, a matinee idol (Kelly) hopes to make the cut. But he's hampered by a silent-movie queen (Jean Hagen) with a voice like fingernails on a blackboard.
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Hard to believe I've lived so much of my life without seeing this classic. But I wonder, why is it called Singing in the Rain? The only time the words “singing in the rain” are ever uttered are in the middle (with the famous song) and at the end (with the famous song re-sung). The song itself has nothing to do with the plot in general. Seems like it was more about the transition from silent movies to talkies. If someone can explain the connection to me, I might change my mind.
This was also my first exposure to Gene Kelly, who I really like now. Dude can dance and he’s classic eye candy. More, please.
Ghost Town - ★★★☆
British funnyman Ricky Gervais ("The Office," "Extras") stars in his first feature film lead as Bertram Pincus, a hapless gent who's pronounced dead, only to be brought back to life with an unexpected gift: a newfound ability to see ghosts. When Bertram crosses paths with the recently departed Frank Herlihy (Greg Kinnear), he gets pulled into Frank's desperate bid to break up his widowed wife's (Téa Leoni) pending marriage to another man.
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Now I understand why Ricky Gervais says [in the special features section of The Office series] that contrary to popular opinion, he is not an actor. He is a writer. Ghost Town is proof of that since his character is slightly more anti-social version of David Brent. He’s got snarky down pat. But the funny thing about Ghost Town is that he eventually shows he can be an actor. He’s not just snarky. He can play believable romantic comedy. And that ability is what kept this movie from being poor on plot.
The Libertine - ★★☆☆
Johnny Depp portrays 17th century poet John Wilmot in this provocative period piece. Wilmot, the Earl of Rochester, received posthumous acclaim for his sexually overt poetry, but his womanizing ways garnered the most attention during his brief life. His rakish adventures include attempting to kidnap the woman he would eventually marry, constantly angering the king and wooing actress Elizabeth Barry. Samantha Morton and John Malkovich co-star.
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I have to be honest with you, I don’t remember much about this movie other than it starred Johnny Depp who is one of my favorites. I would venture to say that it wasn’t his fault that I don’t remember. I do remember laughing a bit and crying a bit, so it couldn’t have been a total loss.
Night at the Museum - ★★★☆
Chaos reigns at the natural history museum when night watchman Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) accidentally stirs up an ancient curse, awakening Attila the Hun, an army of gladiators, a T. rex and other exhibits. Larry tries desperately to keep marauding Neanderthals and Mayans in check, fighting a losing battle until President Teddy Roosevelt (Robin Williams) comes to the rescue. Owen Wilson and Dick Van Dyke co-star in this family-friendly fantasy.
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I have been putting off watching this. For some reason, even though I had no evidence, I was just sure it was going to be awful. I think it was the Ben Stiller influence. I was pleasantly surprised. And I’m actually looking forward to the sequel.
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer - ★☆☆☆
Born with an acute sense of smell, Jean-Baptiste Grenouille (Ben Whishaw) resorts to dark deeds in creating a perfume that captures the essence of a woman in this 18th-century thriller based on Patrick Süskind's best-selling novel. The disturbing intensity mounts as Baroque-born Grenouille's obsession to create the ultimate scent moves from innovation to murderous aberration. Alan Rickman co-stars along with Dustin Hoffman as a master perfumer.
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OMG. End my life. The only star this movie deserves is because of the sheer reputation of such great actors as Dustin Hoffman and Alan Rickman who graced this movie with their presence and saved it from complete disaster. The idea of creating the best perfume in the world is interesting (since such a thing would be extremely subjective), but the measures the psychotic main character takes in order to create this captivating fragrance are brutal and almost beyond comprehension.
Though, to be completely honest, it wasn’t that bad until about 3/4 of the way through the film. From beginning to about half-way through, it was incredibly slow. Then suddenly, it picked up. About 3/4 of the way, it took a turn for the worst. At that point it quite simply jumped the shark. I remember mr_j and I going bug-eyed and slowly turning to look at each other in confused disgust.
One Night with the King - ★★★★
This amazing biblical drama chronicles the brave and historic legend of Hadassah (Tiffany Dupont), a Jewish orphan with exceptional beauty who rises to become Queen Esther of Persia and saves Persian Jews from genocide. By revealing her heritage to the king, Esther thwarts the evil prime minister's plan to annihilate all Jews in the Persian Empire. The annual festival of Purim is inspired by her heroism.
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Oooo. This was surprisingly good. I had heard it wasn’t. But I never believe anything I hear, especially when it comes to whether a movie is “good” or not. I’ve honestly never studied the story of Esther much, and though I’m sure this has been greatly embellished from the Biblical story, I thought it was very realistic and true to the spirit of the time. I enjoyed seeing the villain from Hellboy 2 play a completely different role with the same ability. I would own this one too, if mr_j would buy it for me. :)
Casanova - ★★★★
Lasse Hallstrom's witty romantic comedy stars Heath Ledger as Jacamo Casanova, the infamous and dashing player of 18th century Venice who holds the key to every woman's heart -- all but one, that is. Francesca (Sienna Miller) detests the lothario's conquering approach to matters of love and rallies against him in her writing ... which only makes her more alluring. But to win her over, Casanova must first decide what kind of man he truly is.
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<3 Heath Ledger. The cheese factor could have been really high in this movie, but he made it believable. I’m not sure what to say about it, other than it’s one I would want to own and watch repeatedly. One of the few successful period romantic comedies.
Apocalypto - ★★★★
Oscar-winning director Mel Gibson moves on from biblical fare to tackle the end of the Mayan civilization in this gripping action-adventure set just before Spain's conquest of Mexico and Central America in the 16th century. When an invading force threatens his peaceful existence, a courageous native risks everything to protect his way of life -- even if it means leaving his beautiful mate and unborn child behind.
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Visually, this movie was amazing. So much historical research went into the costumes and the makeup. Can you imagine doing detailed tribal paintings for thousands of extras? Major kudos to the artists who worked on this film, those in front of and behind the camera. I know Mel Gibson got a bad rap for doing this, and compared to how much money was spent making it, it didn’t do very well in the box office or in reviews. But since when has that influenced my opinion?
Easy Rider - ★★★☆
With cash from a cocaine sale, freewheelers Billy and Wyatt hop on their motorcycles and ride across America toward New Orleans. Along the way, they add boozy lawyer George to their trouble-finding, society-questioning entourage. Dennis Hopper writes, directs and stars in this landmark 1960s counterculture film; Peter Fonda co-writes and co-stars. Jack Nicholson earned a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his role as George.
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This movie was about a whole lot of nothing, but the way it was filmed and edited made it seem like something. I found myself fascinated by the angles of the shots and the special effects, which were really good for their time. But the plot and dialog in general…. Let’s talk about boring. The most prominent part of the audio of this movie were the songs which were heard nearly in their entirety within a single scene. There was very little dialog in comparison.
I loved Jack Nicholson’s character George, and was really sad that he was in such a small portion of the movie. How do you win a Best Supporting Actor nomination for 10 minutes of screen time? Be Jack Nicholson, I guess.
The Hitcher (1984) - ★★★☆
Never pick up strangers; that's a lesson Jim Halsey (C. Thomas Howell) will wish he'd learned. While driving from Chicago to San Diego, he picks up hitchhiker John Ryder (Rutger Hauer) but regrets it when he begins to suspect Ryder may be a serial killer. Before Halsey can say, "Get out of my car," Ryder kills again -- and frames him for the murders.
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Though Sean Bean did an amazing job as the hitchhiker in the new version, the original movie was better overall. The new Hitcher has more blood. The original Hitcher has more scare. It didn’t use fast-paced editing and high-action shots to create the fear. It was much more subtle, and consequently, creepier.